PHILIPPINES: Anak Mindanao (AMIN) Party List members joined the Solidarity-Cultural Walk for Peace from Bantayog ng mga Bayani to the Quezon City Memorial Circle this morning (December 5, 2012) for the culmination ceremony of this year’s Mindanao Week of Peace celebration.

The said event was organized by Mindanao Solidarity Network (MSN), in which AMIN is an active group member among other civil society organizations in partnership with the local government of Quezon City. This year’s theme is “Kapayapaan Atin Ito, Magkaisa Tayo Para sa Kapayapaan sa Mindanao,” focusing more on the recent and significant signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

The Mindanao Week of Peace is actually an annual weeklong celebration of solidarity actions for peace through series of peace-building activities with the public. It was in 2010 when the local government of Quezon City passed an ordinance declaring the last week of November of every year as the Mindanao week of peace celebration in Quezon City and co-organized various activities for the celebration. The celebration seeks to mainstream the Mindanao issue in the Nation Capital Region where the decision, policy and opinion-makers reside.

Comments

Members of different civil society organizations, as well as representatives from the Quezon City Hall and some government agencies, participated in the Cultural Solidarity Walk from the Bantayog ng mga Bayani to the Quezon Memorial Circle that culminated the weeklong festivities that started on Nov. 28.

The Mindanao Solidarity Network (MSN), co-organizer of MWP along with the Quezon City government, expressed its optimism on the prospects of the “framework agreement” despite of the long and complex process that still needs to be done in this roadmap.

Liza Ugay, MSN spokesperson, explained that the historic signing of the “framework” in Malacañang last Oct. 15 was only one of the series of steps to reach a final peace accord, which the Aquino administration is reportedly hoping to finish by 2016, when Aquino’s six-year term ends.

MSN clarified that the peace panel has yet to finalize details, especially on power-sharing and wealth-sharing between the future Bangsamoro administration and the Philippine government.

President Aquino also has to name a reliable and acceptable replacement for Marvic Leonen, the erstwhile chief government peace negotiator, who was recently appointed to the Supreme Court.

Likewise, Aquino will issue an Executive Order establishing the 15-member Transition Commission – eight chosen by the MILF and seven selected by the government – that will draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will be sent to Congress for deliberations and approval as well as its signing by Aquino. A plebiscite and later an election for the Bangsamoro officials will then be held in the proposed Bangsamoro territory – a new entity that will replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“This peace roadmap obviously is lengthy and complicated, but it is worth trying to end the senseless killings and the widespread poverty and misery of the majority in Mindanao, especially the masses, whether they’re Muslims, Lumads and Christians,” Herbert Demos, of the Socsksargen Workers Network-Alliance of Progressive Labor (SWN-APL), said. Socsksargen is South Cotobato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and Gen. Santos City.